It took three weeks and eight matches into the season for the Penn State women's volleyball team to play on its home court, but the No. 4 Nittany Lions (9-2) did not disappoint their fans this weekend. The Lions swept Seton Hall (30-20, 30-17, 30-20) on Friday, and then Pennsylvania (30-17, 30-16, 30-17) and Marshall (30-19, 30-25, 30-13) on Saturday in the Penn State Classic.

"We played our best match [Saturday] out of the three," Lions coach Russ Rose said of the victory over the Thundering Herd. "Our blocking was much better, Christa [Harmotto] and Nicole [Fawcett] were very strong offensively."

Harmotto and Fawcett stole the show on the weekend, putting up impressive numbers while putting down equally impressive kills. Harmotto, with her style of gracefully cutting through the air en route to an attack, is a contrast in style to Fawcett, who flat-out clobbers the ball.

"There are gonna be some match-ups where Nicole just overpowers people because she's capable of doing that," Rose said.

Fawcett hit .417 with nine blocks for the weekend, while Harmotto swung at a .460 clip with nine blocks against Marshall alone, and 15 in total on her way to becoming the Most Outstanding Player of the Classic for the weekend.

"I enjoy setting them, and people really enjoy watching them," setter Sam Tortorello said of the star freshmen. "You couldn't really ask for any more than what they've done so far."

Fellow freshman Laura Holloway turned in a solid performance against the Pirates, while sophomore Melissa Walbridge played her consistent, but less-than-dominant game throughout all three matches. Junior Cassy Salyer is still adjusting to her new position on the right side, but Rose was satisfied with the way she played toward the end of the weekend.

All was not well from the service line for the Lions. Penn State committed 30 service errors on the weekend, a number that might be more costly against Big Ten competition.

Though Rose was not particularly pleased with Penn State's play against Seton Hall on Friday, he did enjoy the overall home atmosphere, especially that night's cheering section.

At one point some wrestlers in the crowd began running around the track, only to be stopped by a campus police officer -- much to Rose's dismay.

Rec Hall: So hot right now

With the new bleachers in Rec Hall comes a new inconvenience: uncomfortable heat. It did not take long for shirtsleeves and pant legs to be rolled up, and in the more extreme instance, for shirts to be removed completely.

"The new bleachers, with the way they're set up, have a ventilation issue," Rose said. "It's pretty hot."